Assisted reproductive technologies involve the use of fertility drugs and the manipulation of eggs and sperm in a laboratory setting. Since the first test tube baby was born in 1978, investigators have studied whether these interventions set the stage for adverse health outcomes in children. The evidence to date indicates most artificially conceived babies are born perfectly healthy, although long-term health effects have yet to be fully investigated.

Of the thousands of epigenetics studies published in the past two decades, a few hundred have addressed behavioral and mental health outcomes, but only a fraction of those have dealt with fetal or childhood exposures or outcomes. However, early results in the niche field of behavioral epigenetics suggest such studies could provide insights into a variety of behavioral and mental health conditions.

• Podcast — Post-Katrina Asthma in the Children of New Orleans, with Patricia Chulada

New Orleans is already known as a hot, moist place — ideal growing conditions for mold. Now factor in Hurricane Katrina, which hit the city in August of 2005, leaving behind even more indoor mold and other asthma-causing allergens. In this month’s
Researcher’s Perspective podcast, (http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/category/podcasts/)
host Ashley Ahearn talks with Patricia Chulada, Ph.D., about her work studying post-Katrina asthma symptoms in the children of New Orleans and implementing a new asthma counselor intervention in a large NIEHS-funded initiative (see story).

The Environmental Factor is produced monthly by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/), Office of Communications and Public Liaison. The text is not copyrighted, and it can be reprinted without permission. If you use parts of Environmental Factor in your publication, we ask that you provide us with a copy for our records. We welcome your comments and suggestions. (bruskec@niehs.nih.gov)